Final Fight Remixed
by Maddening Tumult
Summary: RE WRITTEN: Ever wonder what would have happened if Terra wasn't separated by Master Xehanort? Well, here's your answer. AU. Major BBS spoilers.


Final Fight Remixed

_**Terra**_ looked at his enemy, the one who took away his master, the one who nearly killed his best friends, all for his own gain. His anger getting the better of him and his judgment, he took one swipe of his massive keyblade, and the Ageing Keyblade master vanished into oblivion.

As soon as the hated heart was gone, Terra heard a roaring behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he quickly turned around to look at a blinding column of light, one that signified something that he feared.

"Ven!" he yelled, afraid that something he strove to stop actually happened. Putting on his orange and brown armor- with no helmet- he got on his rider and sped down the steep cliff. Stopping about five yards away from an unconscious Aqua, and a young Mouse king near her, he went into a full blown sprint towards them. "Aqua!" He called, running up to her and kneeling down, resting her head in his lap. "What happened?" He asked Mickey, neither of them noticing the column of light fading away.

"Vanitas attacked her and knocked her out." Mickey said, ears down cast.

"I see…" Terra replied, hoping that his friend was strong enough not to take the blow extremely hard. Suddenly Aqua woke up, and sat up straight immediately, taking a gasp of air. "Hey, easy now." Terra said to her, getting a blank look as a reply, knowing full well that that expression was soon going to turn into a glare.

"You idiot!" Aqua yelled, starting to hit him on the chest playfully while he held his hands up in a mock surrender. She abruptly stopped, looking around frantically and muttering one word: "Ven." Knowing full well who she was looking for, he stood up and searched for the young keyblade apprentice.

Spotting a mess of spiky blond hair, he pointed to it, and Aqua followed his gaze. Both of them took off running towards it, calling his name. "Ven!" Aqua said, slowing to a walk, followed closely by Terra. "Ven, are you okay?" His head continued facing down, which worried the older man.

Suddenly, Ven lifted his head up, a cruel smile playing on his lips. With a swift motion, he lifted up his keyblade and aimed it at aqua's heart. She gasped, and as he charged the keyblade at her, Terra took out his blocked the boy's attack, as aqua stumbled away. Mickey, on the other hand, decided to say what Terra and he were both thinking. "That's not Ven!"

Ven smirked as Terra made it back to Aqua and Mickey, "Yes, I am not Ven!" He said, as Ven's armor faded away to reveal Vanitas' own suit, causing terra to realize his suspicions were correct. "I have taken over his heart!" All of their eyes widened at this statement, and made them feel rage, sadness, and anger at this new embodiment of their dear young friend.

The possessed Ven held up his Keyblade towards the sky. But it was different. Like a sword, and yet, still a keyblade, just some strange combination of the two."With this X-blade, I'll open the door, and all the worlds will be connected!" He said. "Then, I'll aim for the heart of light- Kingdom Hearts- so key bearers from other worlds can assemble in this place! And the legendary Keyblade wars can begin once again!" He finished off, lifting his head towards Kingdom Hearts, with a maniacal smile on his face.

"Shut up!" Aqua ordered, her stance changing into a fighting one, followed shortly by Terra and Mickey. "I'm not in the mood for your babbling! Give my friend his heart back!"

Vanitas smirked, lowering his gaze and fixing his golden eyes on the female Keybearer. A strange, sickly black-orange glow wreathed around his stolen body and he twitched his fingertips, daring her to try and take it.

Before she could take a step, Terra launched himself clear over her head and brought _Gaia Bane_ down in a slicing arch, roaring out a battle cry.

And Vanitas…simply wasn't there.

In a rush of shadow, he flashed just behind Terra and slammed him hard in the back, sending the older Keyblader flying. He tumbled for a moment before regaining his footing, and Aqua tore her eyes from her friend and instead fired a blast of Blizzard magic at the possessed Ven.

Vanitas avoided the attack and leaped up, swinging the X-Blade and aiming for her heart. Aqua jumped back, startled.

_He's so fast!_

Mickey was quick on his feet also, and he darted behind Vanitas and succeeded in scoring a blow to the boy's side. Vanitas snarled and twisted around to focus on the mouse, and then Terra was upon them both. Aqua saw fury blazing in his deep blue eyes, and he sliced with a furious strength born from anger. Vanitas was unbothered, his unnatural speed aiding in his efforts as he fended off each and every blow.

Aqua, however, decided to try something else. She concentrated, and let loose with seven strands of rainbow light that arched from her Keyblade and swirled around her adversary, stinging and snapping at his skin like vibrant vipers.

Vanitas was again…_gone_.

She screamed involuntarily as he reappeared behind her and delivered a terribly cruel blow between her shoulders, which would have killed her had it not been for her armor. The female was too slow though to stop him as he continued in a vicious combo cycle, and she staggered, stars popping into existence as the world shivered and threatened to disappear into darkness.

"Aqua!" Two concerned voices shouted.

_No, not here! Ven…I have to save Ven! _

The Keyblade Master swiftly casted a healing charm on herself, and then she countered the smug Vanitas's next attack with a barrier. As he rebounded, she managed to distribute two stinging slashes to his chest and head, though for a moment she imagined it was Ven's pained eyes looking back at her instead of the golden gaze of the fiend in his body.

"Terra, Aqua, c'mere!" Mickey called, extending his hands to the both of them. As Vanitas recovered, the girl raced to the mouse's side and the pair of Keybearers did as they were told, locking their fingers together.

A warm feeling spread throughout her entire body, and Aqua was shocked by the amount of Light energy present in Mickey. The three of them linked their power and before they knew it, a radiant storm resembling a cloud of diamond dust was coming from around their bodies, like a whirlpool, as they spun with their feet off of the ground.

"What?" Vanitas gasped, his tone outraged, as if this was all rather unfair.

The Light swamped the possessed boy, and he growled in pain as it swept over him. The glowing particles clung to his blonde hair and even his eyelashes, so that it seemed like he was covered in luminescent snow. A small explosion of blue and yellow soon followed as the spell finished with a bang, knocking Vanitas back.

"You're finished!" Terra bellowed, clenching _Gaia Bane _tightly and nodding at Aqua. "Let's show him what real Keybearers can do!"

"For Ven!" She agreed, _Rain Storm_ glittering with magical power as if in response. Vanitas swung the X-Blade, and a black crescent emerged from its tip, emanating all of the deadly cold of the dark. They dodged it, but before they could get closer, he sprang up and vanished into thin air.

Light _and_ shadow burst towards the sky as Vanitas landed, and Aqua cast a quick Curaga for Terra as he took most of the blow, shielding her from the blast. She pivoted sharply around him and summoned a streak of lightning, the only thing she trusted to be fast enough to possibly catch her opponent before he warped again.

It hit him on the shoulder, and his golden eyes flashed with something like twisted _enjoyment_ as they landed on hers. Aqua met the X-Blade's attack head on, pressing _Rain Storm_ against it and digging her shoes into the ground to avoid being shoved away.

"You can give up now," Vanitas taunted, his voice a distorted blending of his and Ven's. "His heart and mine are again one. There never _was_ a Ventus. He and I are the same being."

Shock and fear slid its icy claws into her, but Aqua shook it off. If that was true, it went both ways. There wasn't a Vanitas either. She shoved against him, _hard_, but still she was unable to do more than make him retreat a single step.

"That's not true!" Mickey flipped in and, with a sickly _crunch_, his _Shooting Star_ crashed into Vanitas's back.

A cry of pain exploded from the possessed boy, and Terra took that as an opportunity to bash his adversary's head into the soil of the Keyblade Graveyard. "We'll save Ven, no matter what it takes!"

Darkness flickered around the male Keybearer's form, and Aqua winced at the sight of it, but decided she would address it later.

To their combined horror, Vanitas got to his feet, _laughing_. "Is this all you can throw at me? You haven't yet seen the X-Blade's power!" His pitying tone became harsh at the end, and he became nothing but a blur as he raced around the trio, hitting each of them hard and quick without any chance for a retaliating blow to be dealt.

Aqua managed to throw up a magical shield after the second strike, but Vanitas only recoiled for an instant. He ducked into the ground and exploded back out in a shower of dark fire, sending the girl onto her back. She raised her weapon and was just able to catch the X-Blade before it stabbed into her chest.

What seemed to be a sphere of black smoke struck her grinning attacker in the back, and Aqua kicked up, sending Vanitas straight towards Terra, whose hand was still streaming with shadow. _Gaia Bane _tore into the boy's chest, but the moment he hit the ground, Vanitas sank into it.

"Look out!" Mickey pushed Terra out of the way with astounding strength just as Vanitas reemerged, and he ended up receiving the entire, deadly hit that had been meant for the brown-haired warrior.

"Mickey!" Aqua yelled as the mouse rolled over twice and laid still. Vanitas seemed a little surprised that it hadn't been Terra he had knocked out (she refused to think _killed_) but was satisfied nonetheless.

"We can do this together," Terra's eyes narrowed to burning slits. "Aqua, let's go!"

"Right!" She ran to her friend's side, praying that Mickey was going to be okay, and raised a barrier just as Vanitas released a pulse of Darkness that spread across the whole battlefield. She dropped some tangerine-colored arcane mines that stuck to the earth like fiery leeches; flame rippling all along their lengths.

Terra took one look at the spell she had just performed and knew what to do. He had never been the fastest, but Aqua swore she moved faster than even Ven could as tendrils of shadow swirled around him and he grappled directly with Vanitas, their Keyblades sending up sparks and bits of black and white.

She swiftly tossed Terra another Curaga and tried to do the same with Mickey, ignoring her own wounds, when unexpectedly the possessed Ven was right in front of her, shaking his head with a sad expression.

"No can do," he smiled. "That rodent stays right where he's at." He sought to knife Aqua, but she cartwheeled and sprang through the air, sending magical frost into his face. As the boy stumbled, Terra struck him hard and Vanitas fell into the mines.

They went off in a chain reaction, exploding one after another with him helpless to do anything. Aqua finally used those few precious seconds to heal Mickey, but even then the heroic mouse was disoriented.

When Vanitas was again able to stand, he looked furious. He began teleporting once more, and the trio struggled to hold him at bay. Even though all three were determined, their stamina began wearing thin as the conflict raged on.

And still, Vanitas kept smirking, as if he was enjoying every aspect of their mêlée.

Then, something _snapped_ in their enemy's mind as Mickey, Terra, and Aqua caught Vanitas in a combo sequence between all of them, and he blasted them away with a tremendous discharge of wind.

Aqua hit a rock column so hard that her vision completely blacked out for a few heartbeats. There was the sound of two bodies landing not far away, and then…nothing.

"What's wrong?" Vanitas taunted, striding towards her and pausing, his breathing perfectly calm. "Giving up already?"

Despite how much she wanted to wipe that grin from his face, Aqua was too tired to do anything. Her muscles had all gone limp, and she had never been in more pain in her entire life. One portion of her armor was digging into her flesh, and every time she moved, the wound it caused grew deeper and deeper. She shifted regardless, aiming to get up and rescue her friend, but the resulting agony that ensued proved too much for her, and she fell back.

Mickey struggled to his feet, leaning against a stone wall for support and blinking blearily at Aqua. Terra was flat on his stomach, but even as she watched, his hands pressed themselves to the bleak ground and he lifted his head, glaring daggers at Vanitas.

_Ven. Ven's in there somewhere. Come on, don't you care about him? Fight for him! _Aqua berated herself. She dug into her item pouch and removed the blue star charm she had created for her and her friends, tracing its calligraphic swirls. _Our destinies are intertwined. Nothing can break us apart._

"Ven…lend me your strength. Help me help you." She whispered imploringly, as if the innocent trinket could actually connect her heart to the blonde's.

Terra was doing something similar nearby, his lips moving, eyes focused on his red star.

Mickey studied them both then fixed his sights back on Vanitas, who was surveying the scene with an amused, smug look.

The star charms flashed, and Aqua trembled as new energy flowed into her. It wasn't Light, it certainly wasn't Darkness. It was…

She suddenly found she could stand again, and she wasted no time in letting out a battle cry and engaging Vanitas once more, much to Terra's and Mickey's wonder. Their Keyblades locked with an explosive _slam_, and a ripple glided invisibly across the Graveyard, rattling the old Keyblades shoved into the dirt.

At first, he just smiled at her and pressed the X-Blade harder, unfazed. But as Aqua summoned all of her remaining power and pushed against him, the X-Blade began to decompose, losing its gold and crackling with shadowy waves. He started retreating until, with a shout, the girl rotated _Rain Storm_ sharply and sent his malformed weapon high into the air. Vanitas, sprawled ungracefully on his back, could do nothing at all as it spun away from him, far out of his grasp.

Immediately, the X-blade lit up, and let out powerful wisps of light out, blocking Aqua from reaching Vanitas.__

."Oh, no!" Mickey exclaimed. "The power is going out of control!"Mickey and Terra snapped out of their trance, both running up to either side of Aqua, and shielding their eyes from the magnificent, yet devastatingly bright light. From what little they could see, the suit that Vanitas was wearing slowly faded off, revealing Ven's own suit of grey and black armor.

"Ven!" Terra and Aqua yelled. The Light from the broken weapon was getting stronger, and just as its limits were about to be reached, the weapon completely disintegrated, making the power inside it explode. The winds caused by this release of power blew the unconscious Ventus into the air, and away from the waves of energy. Aqua paused for a bit, trying to keep her own body from blowing away, and then took off after her youngest friend, followed closely by Terra. Both barely grabbed on to each of Ven's hands, latching onto them to keep themselves from losing him in the powerful light they were about to be swallowed by.

They yelled as they were thrown into oblivion, not knowing where they would end up.

_**Aqua**_ slowly lifted her tired body off the ground, and looked at her surroundings. To the left of her was a sleeping Ven, armor off and leaning against the wall. To the right was Terra, groggily opening his eyes and sitting up. And finally, the one closest to Ven, was Mickey Mouse, Upright and alert.

"Where are we?" She asked, unknowingly voicing what Terra was thinking as well.

"Mickey found you three drifting unconsciously in the corridors of space, and brought you here." A familiar voice said. Yen Sid's voice. Terra moved near aqua, to get a closer look at the man.

"I see," Aqua whispered. She then moved over to the only person still sleeping -Ventus- and shook him. "Ven! Ventus!" But he wouldn't wake up.

"It seems that his heart is sleeping." Yen Sid said as Terra tried the same thing as Aqua, getting the same results.

"Will he wake up?" Terra asked calmly, hiding his concern about their youngest friend.

"I don't know." Was the reply. "I don't feel Ventus' heart. If his heart were to return, perhaps he would awaken. But if it doesn't, he may sleep for eternity." Aqua and Terra's eyes both widened at this, both knowing full well that one was more likely than the other, and they didn't like the results.

"That's…" Aqua trailed off.

Terra worked up enough courage to say something. "We will keep him safe." He said, nodding at Aqua, who also nodded in turn. "Always and forever, until the day he finally wakes up."

"What you ought to be doing now is not protecting your friend." Yen Sid stated, turning around to drift towards his desk. "You should believe in him. Right now, Ventus is sleeping in the rift between light and Darkness. You see," He trailed off, sitting back at his desk, away from the small group. "You, standing in the light, must believe in your friend. Treasure the bonds with your friends. If the time comes for him to awaken, I think Ventus' heart will follow the bonds he has with his friends back home. To the world of light." He finished the last part with a smile towards them.

An "Ahh," was heard from Mickey Mouse, who then turned around to face the other two."Well, I reckon I must have a bond with Ven too." He said. "I treasure my bond with him. If we do that, Ven can follow the three of our bonds and come back."

Aqua and Terra took out their charms as Mickey finished his speech, and looked at them with soft expressions. "Yeah," Aqua said, noticing a gentle smirk form on Terra's face from the corner of her eye. "Good Idea."

_**End**_

Woo hoo! Done with the remake! Took a long time, didn't it? Well, you can thank my school. Parents and friends for that, along with the wonderful art of procrastination.

BUT. You can't thank all of this for me. In fact, the one who gave me the battle part of this was none other than the wonderful writer _**Divine Wolfe**_, who is a prominent writer on this sight, and whose stories are absolutely wonderful to read. Another person who I need to thank is _**Keybearer001**_, who got me the motivation to rewrite this thing to include the battle part, as well as got me to contact _**Divine Wolfe**_ about that certain part/. Something else I need to say, is that without you wonderful readers, AND reviewers, I would have never been able to do this. Thank you.

Now, another thing I need to say is that I sort of have written a sequel, but it's crappy, and as soon as I have found the journal it's written in, if someone would help me edit it into something I am able to post? I'd be really thankful.

One more: IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! *Party music and confetti starts* HAPPY B-DAY TO ME!

Bye!


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